"Get out of the way!"
Log and I were on our usual path on the town's main road to the guild when a sudden commotion halted us.
A group of town guards were hurriedly transporting a few wagons carrying a number of unconscious people, some of whom have been injured. The guards were reasonably pushing the other vehicles on the road so they can smoothly pass through the traffic. Witnessing by themselves just how critical the injuries some of the people in the wagons have, the owners of the vehicles which were being pushed to the sides did not complain. Most of them looked confused and were panicking, but none acted selfish.
"Marcus?"
As it turns out, the people being transported were the same knights working for Baron Heldrick. Surprisingly, one of them was Marcus, the captain of the Baron's knights' order himself.
Marcus looked better than the others, but he was still unconscious and bleeding. I wanted to heal him and his men, but I don't think the town guards would be understanding enough to stop their tracks and let me do it.
While some of their injuries do look grim, none of them were in a life-threatening state. My bet is that a few low-tier potions have already been used to heal them a little. They should be fine once they get the proper treatment from the town's healers, mainly, the army's assigned healers and the church's priests.
"Hmph! I've seen worse!" Log dispecfully said.
"You shouldn't say things like that," I flicked his head and sighed.
"Ouch! Master!" he cried.
I took Log's hand as we walked ahead of the crowd. The two of us just finished another quest, so we still have to go to the guild to get our pay.
I wanted to heal Marcus and the others' injuries, but I don't really want to constantly take other people's job. Besides, unlike the injuries of the knights I previously healed, the healers of this town should be able to deal with them on their own. I don't have to butt in anymore like I did before.
It did not take long for us to arrive at the guild.
The guild seemed more chaotic and noisier than usual. The adventurers' voices were particularly loud. From what I can hear from their conversations, they were apparently concerned about the Baron's army that arrived defeated at the gates.
The reinforcements from the capital and the other noble territories should be arriving soon, so there were some who were also confident that the enemy would be defeated eventually. They were trying to convince those who were worried, but things seem to just get heated when they get refuted, and they end up arguing in the end.
"Uh-hump!" a particular voice resounded amongst the loud conversations.
A black-haired woman in her 30's gathered the attention of everyone in the room. If I'm not mistaken, she's the assistant guild master. The actual guild master should be with Baron Heldrick, accompanying him in the capital city.
"Quiet down, everyone! I have an important announcement to make," she explained, "I'll keep it simple... A part of the Baron's army guarding the territory has been defeated. Only a few people survived, and some of them have been injured. They're exhausted as well, so they will most likely not be able to fight in the upcoming battle."
The crowd has little reaction. As expected, they have already heard the news. However, the words that came out of her mouth next further escalated everyone's worries.
"The enemy's army is now marching straight here. Based on our estimations, they should arrive within two or three days."
I expected as much, but the other adventurers can't seem to comprehend it. They looked doubtful and unconvinced.
"Wa-wait a minute! I thought we still have more time?"
"That's right! And the army should have kept them at bay! There must be some casualties on their side as well!"
The usual way the Dark army battles against the common races, specially the humans, was simple. Unless it's a very powerful country, they won't immediately send their most powerful warriors. Instead, they would deploy weaker disposable monsters to attack small villages and steal resources first. They would then slowly increase their number, overwhelming the forces they will eventually battle. They're easily defeated most of the time, but if they managed to decrease the opposing forces enough, their real army would then be sent to completely annihilate anything that remains.
It's a cunning tactic with low risk and high reward. Nolan and the people from the capital know this, so they immediately planned to gather enough reinforcement first before they commence the attack. We would need to completely stomp the enemies with minimum casualties. If we send a small group and it gets defeated, we would only slowly dwindle our own forces while giving the enemy a chance to gather and further increase their's.
However, the enemies Nero and his group fought have no reason to increase their numbers anymore. From what the reports say, they should be strong enough to march ahead and defeat whoever stands in their way.
My guess is that they're an outlier group, acting seperately from the main forces of the Dark army. It's rare, but some of them do act on their own accord.
That's why, I think Nolan and the people from the capital were mistaking the enemy's intention. I don't think the other adventurers realize it either. Perhaps they read how the enemies only consist of goblins, trolls, and minotaurs, and decided that they would attack in the same way they usually does.
Either way, even if they were wrong in their prior guess, we would still have to wait for reinforcement to defeat an army that big. If it's true that they were marching towards this town now, we won't stand a chance against them.
"Unless a miracle happens and they somehow remain where they are now, we'll be forced to hold the fort and defend this town," the assistant guildmaster explained so.